Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A58002
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The present state of the Greek and Armenian churches, anno Christi 1678 written at the command of His Majesty by Paul Ricaut.
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Rycaut, Paul, Sir, 1628-1700.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing R2411; ESTC R25531
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138,138
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503
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supposed than real presumed gratis and not granted that Universal Jurisdiction becomes as empty and airy as those Titles which Popes give to those Patriarchs and Bishops whom they constitute over the several Diocesses of the Eastern Churches though they neither have a Revenue from thence nor Command over any of the Greek perswasion To evince which with more Evidence it will be pertinent to understand what Confession herein the Oriental Church makes and layes down for Orthodox viz. That as there is one Faith one Baptism one God and one Father of all so the Church of God is one Holy Catholick and Apostolick which denomination of Catholick they are the very words of the Confession the Church doth not take from one particular place or See predominant over all others as from Ephesus Philadelphia Laodicea Antioch Rome Jerusalem or the like but from an aggregation of all the Christian Churches in the World collected into one Body and united under one head Christ Jesus It is true saith this Confession that Jerusalem may properly be called the Mother Church of the World it having been the Stage whereon the Mystery of man's Redemption was represented and the place where the Gospel was first preached and the Fountain from whence were derived through the World the Streams of that Holy Doctrine which published the Passion and Resurrection of our Saviour and made known unto the World the glad Tidings of Repentance and remission of Sins but can betermed the Universal Mother with no more right than any other though if any particular Church can pretend thereunto that of Jerusalem might challenge an Authority and Priviledge above others having in the Infancy of Religion Acts II. v. 22. sent forth her Teachers and Pastors into all places and was famed for the glorious Blood of the Primitive Martyrs Whereby it is evident that the Greek Faith acknowledges no other Universal Head or Foundation than Jesus Christ himself under whom the Patriarchs Arch-bishops and Bishops of particular Churches subjected to different Powers of secular Government exercise their sway and jurisdiction over Human Souls Acts 20. v. 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Take heed unto your selves and to all the Flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you Bishops By which it appears That the Greek Church doth not only not esteem the Church of Rome for the sole Catholick but also how absurd it is in reason to exclude the Greek the Armenian and many other Christan Churches from the pale of the Universal and consequently from the Benefits and Promises purchased by Christ for his Church And strange it is that none besides the Roman which is not of that extent as the vast Circumference of the other Christian Churches should yet have the sole Power of the Keys of the Divine Ordination and dispensing the Mysteries of the Holy Sacraments and that such who are excluded or are without her pale should be strangers to the Church of God and Aliens from his People Whilst in this manner the Oriental Churches believe no particular Church to have any other Universal Head than Jesus Christ they bear all obedience and respect to that Church of which they are members submitting to all its Orders and Censures Ecclesiastical for they believe that those words of our Saviour Matth. 18. 27. carry with them some force and authority and if he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the Church and if he neglect to hear the Church let him be unto thee as a Heathen man or a Publican On this ground the Interpretation of Scripture made by the holy Synods and Councils and the judgments given by Patriarchs Bishops and other Priests according to Canonical Rites are established and esteemed of Divine Authority 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Priests with them are the mouth of their Spiritual Law and the Guides of their Souls on their Doctrine they entrust and adventure their safe Pilotage to the everlasting Haven of happiness And believing that no Scripture is of private Interpretation they judge it rational to resign themselves intirely to the belief of those to whose conduct they are committed having that high esteem of obedience as that which contains an admirable Vertue and Efficacy to atone for the sins not only of a misled understanding but for Actions of irregular practices And that the people may better understand the Precepts and Rules of the Church the Oriental Confession hath reduced all the commands thereof unto these nine following The first is Prayer to God attending at the times of the Liturgy Morning and Evening on the Lords Day and holy Festivals of the Church The second is the observation of the Fasts and Feasts of the Church The third is Obedience and Honour towards their Spiritual Pastors and Teachers The fourth is Confession of sins four times a year to a Priest lawfully constituted and ordained The fifth forbids the Laity to read the Books of Hereticks or any other which may divert them from the Profession of the Christian Faith The sixth enjoyns them to pray for all Kings and Princes for their Patriarchs Metropolites Bishops and all the Clergy and for all Souls departed in the Catholick Faith and for all Hereticks and Schismaticks that they may return to the true Faith before their passage from this present life The seventh enjoins an Obedience to all extraordinary occasional Fasts besides the Common or General namely such as are appointed and ordained by the Bishops in their respective Diocesses on occasional Calamities such as Famine War Pestilence or the like The eighth forbids the Laity to invade the Rights or Spiritual Livings or Benefices of the Clergy or convert the Ornaments of the Priest or Altar to private and profane uses or sacrilegiously to rob the Poor's Box and abuse the charitable Contributions of well-disposed Christians by employing them contrary to the intention of the Donor The ninth forbids the celebration of Marriages in Lent or during the time of their other Fasts or to frequent Theaters or imitate the Customs of the Barbarians or Infidels that so those who profess the Gospel may be charged with nothing that is over-sensual undecent or of ill report CHAP. V. Of the Fasts of the Greek Church THE Principal Fasts or Lents are four The first begins the 15th day of November being forty days before Christmas The second is the great Lent before Easter beginning with ours according to the Old stile the which stile they observe through the whole year The third begins the Week after Pentecost or Whitsontide called The Fast of the Holy Apostles being the time in which they judge that the Apostles prayed and fasted when they prepared themselves to preach the Gospel Acts 13. v. 3. which ends the 29th of June being the Festival of St. Peter and the other Apostles so that of this Fast there is no fixed number of days but is some years more some less according as the Pentecost falls
read the same words which we use at the Consecration of the holy Communion viz. In the same night when he was betrayed he took Bread and when he had given thanks he brake it c. Then follows this Prayer with some Soliloquies Lord who in the third hour didst send thy holy Spirit graciously take it not away from us but grant it unto us praying Lord make clean our hearts within us Which Prayer is repeated three times with the head bowed down and then the Priest raising himself again with an humble voice saith Lord hear my Prayer and lifting up his hand by way of blessing adds make this Bread the holy Body of Christ. Amen And here all the order of Consecration being finished he thus proceeds Thou art my God thou art my King I adore thee piously and faithfully And so covering again the Chalice which contains both species he elevates it and the People worship The Priest then Communicates eating that part of the Bread which in the time of preparation was divided into four pieces and the other three he puts into the Chalice of which with great devotion he sups three times and having himself received he administers the rest in a Spoon in both Kinds to the Communicants which being done the Chalice is carried to the side-Table of Preparation called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and therein are also put the remaining Particles which were laid aside and designed for commemoration of the living and dead of which when the Priest hath received some himself the remainder is divided amongst the Communicants Thus the Mass being finished the Priest cleanses the Cup with great care lest any thing should remain of the Sacrament to be carelesly and prophanely treated It is the Custom in this Church to conserve the Sacrament for the use of the sick but it is never exposed to the view of the People unless at the time of Celebration and thence also covered in the Chalice with a Vail But a most laudable Custom it is in this Church That those who intend to Communicate before they dare to approach the Altar and receive the Divine Mystery they first retire to the bottom of the Church and there ask forgiveness of the whole Congregation desiring their pardon in case they have offended any particular person whatsoever If any one at that time acknowledges himself agrieved or injured the party abstains and withdraws from the Sacrament until such time as he is reconciled and his Adversary satisfied The words they use are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pardon us Brethren for we have sinned in word and deed The people answer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God pardon you Brethren Immunis ar am si tetigit manus Non sumptuosa blandior hostia Mollibit aversos Deos Farre pio Saliente Mica CHAP. X. Of the fourth Mystery called Priesthood wherewith is treated of their Monasteries Orders of Fryars and Nuns and the austerity of their Lives P Riesthood amongst the Greeks is accounted one of the seven Mysteries of the Church in respect of that Power and Authority the Clergy is endued with for dispensation of the Mysteries of mans salvation as the power of the Keys for loosing and binding sins the power and energy of Preaching and interpreting the holy Scriptures as Oracles of God of receiving into the Church baptizing cleansing and regenerating with water in a mysterious manner from the foulness of Original sin power of administring the Sacrament of the holy Eucharist the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Chrism of healing the body by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or holy Oyl matters of such deep and profound concernment beyond the most sublime and elevated understanding as cannot proceed from the vertue and efficacy of any natural calling but only from that unintelligible and mysterious Character of the Priesthood acoording to that of the Apostle 1 Cor. 4. v. 1. Let a man so account of us as of the Ministers of Christ and Stewards of the Mysteries of God Besides the different Orders of Religious and Secular Priests there are others distinctly appointed to administer in the Church and at the Altar namely Anagnostes who is ordained only to read the Hymns which are sung and the Prophets of the Old Testament the Psaltes which is appointed to sing the Psalms of David the Lampadarios who hath the care to trim the Lamps the Deacons and Sub-deacons who read the Epistles and Gospels all which are initiated and first blessed by the Bishop with imposition of hands who gives to the Anagnostes a Bible or Book of the holy Scripture which they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and to the Psaltes the Psalms of David signing and blessing them with the sign of the Cross All which after Ordination have the Crowns of their heads shaven Of Priests there are two sorts who have the power of Preaching and Administring the Sacraments viz. Secular and Religious The first though married have license to enter into holy Orders but their Wives dying they cannot be admitted to a second Marriage of which hard Injunction of their Church some early Widowers have complained unto me with sad remembrances of their past estate and inabilities for a continent life These wear Caps turned up with white from which hangs a fall of the same Cloth on their backs which they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Dove being a Badge of their innocent life but this is oftentimes nay most commonly forfeited being cut off by the Bishop for some omission of duty or commission of sin so that few are observed to have continued this evidence of purity so frail are even Priests in those appetites which they profess to subdue The Religious Priests are called Kaloires from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the good Priest or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 good old Fathers which are Monks inclosed or encloistered in Monasteries professing chastity and obedience Their Order is of S. Basil besides which there is no other amongst the Greeks their Habit is a long Cassock of coarse Cloth girt to them of Camel colour with a Cap of Felt or Wool made to cover their ears and covered with a black Cool called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Their Government and way of living is very austere and strict for they wholly abstain from flesh for all their life In the Lents and times of Fasting they are nourished with Bread and Fruits Oyl and Fish with blood not being allowed which with Lacticinia and Eggs are the Dishes and Delicacies indulged at their Feasts and times of less austerity Most of their time is taken up in their Quires being obliged every day in Lent to read over the whole Psalter once and at the end of every four Psalms is said the Gloria Patri c. with three 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Metagnai or in better Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as they call them which is a bowing or kissing the ground three times At the end of every ten Psalms